Students Hire Class Action Lawyer in Suit Against School

Students Hire Class Action Lawyer in Suit Against School

Students of Paul Mitchell’s cosmetology schools claim they were treated more like employees than like students. Their labor attorney says they should be paid for work they did in the schools’ retail studios – minimum wage plus overtime. But the schools use the excuse that no ‘expectation’ of employment by Paul Mitchell existed, so no wages are due.

However, the students say they received little of the individual instruction, they expected to receive. In fact, students were treated more like employees. They were pushed to sell Paul Mitchell products, and were routinely assigned employee-like tasks such as laundry, cleaning and getting coffee in the schools’ retail studios. All that makes them employees.

The schools’ labor attorney, however, asserts that the law prohibits students from receiving wages until they receive their cosmetology licenses. Does the law also intend to exempt normal employment duties from pay? No. A school should not hide behind the law, and use students as free labor its money-earning enterprises. The court’s decision can have far-reaching ramifications for the way other students are treated in schools.